The present invention relates generally to closure devices and, more particularly, to a closure device having interlocking fastening strips, a slider member comprised of first and second housing segments, and an attachment mechanism for use in assembling the first and second housing segments together onto the interlocking fastening strips. The inventive closure device may be employed in traditional fastener areas and is particularly well suited for fastening flexible storage containers, such as plastic bags.
The use of closure devices for fastening storage containers, including plastic bags, is generally well known. Furthermore, the manufacture of closure devices made of plastic materials is generally well known to those skilled in the art, as demonstrated by the numerous patents in this area.
A particularly well-known use for closure devices is in connection with flexible storage containers, such as plastic bags. Such closure devices provide a convenient way to close the bag in order to retain matter therein. Conventional closure devices typically utilize mating fastening strips which are used to selectively seal the bag. With such closure devices, however, it is often difficult to determine whether the fastening strips are fully occluded. This problem is particularly acute when the fastening strips are relatively narrow. Accordingly, when such fastening strips are employed, there exists a reasonable likelihood that the closure device is at least partially open.
Such fastening strips are particularly difficult to manipulate or handle by individuals with limited manual dexterity. Thus, in order to assist these individuals and for ease of use by individuals with normal dexterity, the prior art has provided sliders for use in opening and closing the fastening strips, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,199,845, 5,007,142, 5,007,143, 5,010,627, 5,020,194, 5,070,583, 5,283,932, 5,301,394, 5,426,830, 5,431,760, 5,442,838, and 5,448,808. Some of these sliders include a separator finger which extends at least partially between the fastening strips. When the slider is moved in the appropriate direction, the separator finger divides the fastening strips and opens and the bag.
While the use of a slider certainly facilitates the opening and closing of fastening strips, there are inherent difficulties involved with installing and assembling the slider onto the fastening strips and with retaining the slider thereon. In an attempt to rectify some of these difficulties, the prior art has provided both single-piece sliders, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,067,208, 5,070,583, and 5,448,808, and multi-piece sliders, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,007,142, 5,283,932, and 5,426,830.
The single-piece sliders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,067,208, 5,070,583, and 5,448,808. Such single-piece sliders suffer from deficiencies including, for example, a complex construction and a relatively high assembly cost. The multi-piece sliders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,007,142 and 5,426,830. These multi-piece sliders suffer from deficiencies including, for example, a relatively complex construction, a high relative cost, a multiplicity of loose pieces which are subject to misplacement and loss, and a relatively difficult installation upon and assembly onto the fastening strips.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a slider member for closure devices which overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a multi-piece slider member for closure devices which is easily installed upon and assembled onto interlocking fastening strips.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multi-piece slider member for closure devices which is partially pre-assembled to provide ease of handling and to facilitate its installation upon and assembly onto interlocking fastening strips.
A related object of the present invention is to provide a multi-piece slider member for closure devices which has a multiplicity of assembly positions to facilitate its installation upon and assembly onto interlocking fastening strips.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-piece slider member which is partially pre-assembled and which is conveniently handled as a single unit during its installation upon and assembly onto interlocking fastening strips.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-piece slider member for closure devices which has a relatively simple construction.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a multi-piece slider member for closure devices which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-piece slider member for closure devices having the foregoing features which is reliable, durable, and convenient to use.
Accordingly, a multi-piece slider member is provided for a closure device having interlocking fastening strips disposed along opposing side walls of a storage container, such as a conventional plastic bag. The slider member is slidably disposed upon the interlocking fastening strips to facilitate the occlusion and deocclusion of the fastening strips when moved towards first and second ends thereof. The inventive slider member comprises a first housing segment, a second housing segment, and an attachment mechanism for use in assembling the first and second housing segments together onto the interlocking fastening strips. The attachment mechanism includes at least one appendage projecting from the first housing segment and at least one cooperating slot formed in the second housing segment. The appendage(s) have at least one barb formed along their length and the slot(s) have at least one notch formed along their length. When the first and second housing segments are moved together during assembly, the slot(s) of the attachment mechanism receive the appendage(s) of the attachment mechanism while the barb(s) of the appendage(s) interact with the notch(es) of the slot(s) to provide at least one assembly position for the first and second housing segments.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiments and upon reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: